Like the D'Aulaires, but for grownups
June 27, 2017 6:23 PM Subscribe
What is the best retelling of Greek myths aimed at adults? I'm looking for something that covers a large number of stories about both gods and heroes, sticks fairly close to the original source texts, and is a little more story-shaped and entertaining to read than the work of Edith Hamilton or Robert Graves.
Ideally, I'd like something that does what Lady Gregory Augusta's Gods and Fighting Men does for Irish myth or Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology does for Norse myth, except for Greek myth. (And ideally with better citing of sources than Mr Gaiman's book.)
Thanks!
Ideally, I'd like something that does what Lady Gregory Augusta's Gods and Fighting Men does for Irish myth or Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology does for Norse myth, except for Greek myth. (And ideally with better citing of sources than Mr Gaiman's book.)
Thanks!
Bulfinch and Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales would be worth skimming through in the bookshop (or online) to see if they fit your requirements. Hamilton, Graves and Bulfinch are the gold standards. Frazer's Golden Bough has all sorts of stuff littered through it too.
Note that there aren't really any "original source texts" for the Greek myths: they are piecemeal from the ancients (e.g. Ovid, Plutarch, Apollodorus), and have been assembled in various ways by various interpreters. So it's a lot like the Bible in that you can pick whatever version or interpretation suits your purposes.
Mary Renault's The King Must Die is a fairly good fictionalised retelling of the Theseus myth. I think Theseus was a dick, but still.
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:34 PM on June 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Note that there aren't really any "original source texts" for the Greek myths: they are piecemeal from the ancients (e.g. Ovid, Plutarch, Apollodorus), and have been assembled in various ways by various interpreters. So it's a lot like the Bible in that you can pick whatever version or interpretation suits your purposes.
Mary Renault's The King Must Die is a fairly good fictionalised retelling of the Theseus myth. I think Theseus was a dick, but still.
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:34 PM on June 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Seconding The King Must Die - I loved that - really exciting & compelling. Mary Renault also wrote The Bull From The Sea (Theseus, continued), Fire From Heaven (Alexander the Great), etc.
In a different way I also loved The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood - retelling the Odysseus story from Penelope's perspective.
Also - again, quite different - Tales from Ovid by Ted Hughes - selections from the Metamorphoses, in a completely new poetic translation.
IMHO with material that's so evocative & so pervasive through the last couple of thousand years of European culture, the looser retellings can be richer than anything that aimed at fidelity to a source.
posted by rd45 at 2:31 AM on June 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
In a different way I also loved The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood - retelling the Odysseus story from Penelope's perspective.
Also - again, quite different - Tales from Ovid by Ted Hughes - selections from the Metamorphoses, in a completely new poetic translation.
IMHO with material that's so evocative & so pervasive through the last couple of thousand years of European culture, the looser retellings can be richer than anything that aimed at fidelity to a source.
posted by rd45 at 2:31 AM on June 28, 2017 [1 favorite]
Maybe check out the Oxford World's Classics edition of one of the primary sources used by Graves et al, The Library of Greek Myths by Apollodorus. The description sounds like it hits most, if not all, of your buttons:
Apollodorus' Library has been used as a source book by classicists from the time of its compilation in the 1st-2nd century BC to the present, influencing writers from antiquity to Robert Graves. It provides a complete history of Greek myth, telling the story of each of the great families of heroic mythology, and the various adventures associated with the main heroes and heroines, from Jason and Perseus to Heracles and Helen of Troy. As a primary source for Greek myth, as a reference work, and as an indication of how the Greeks themselves viewed their mythical traditions, the Library is indispensable to anyone who has an interest in classical mythology.
Robin Hard's accessible and fluent translation is supplemented by comprehensive notes, a map and full genealogical tables. The introduction gives a detailed account of the Library's sources and situates it within the fascinating narrative traditions of Greek mythology.
posted by mediareport at 6:20 AM on June 28, 2017
Apollodorus' Library has been used as a source book by classicists from the time of its compilation in the 1st-2nd century BC to the present, influencing writers from antiquity to Robert Graves. It provides a complete history of Greek myth, telling the story of each of the great families of heroic mythology, and the various adventures associated with the main heroes and heroines, from Jason and Perseus to Heracles and Helen of Troy. As a primary source for Greek myth, as a reference work, and as an indication of how the Greeks themselves viewed their mythical traditions, the Library is indispensable to anyone who has an interest in classical mythology.
Robin Hard's accessible and fluent translation is supplemented by comprehensive notes, a map and full genealogical tables. The introduction gives a detailed account of the Library's sources and situates it within the fascinating narrative traditions of Greek mythology.
posted by mediareport at 6:20 AM on June 28, 2017
Have a look at the Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony by Roberto Calasso. It's a retelling, but from an author who is intimately familiar with the original Greek sources. Very heady stuff... often only a chapter or a handful of pages gets me lost in thought. Absolutely beautifully written though.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:56 AM on June 28, 2017
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:56 AM on June 28, 2017
I really enjoyed Receiver of Many -- it's a retelling of the Eleusian Mysteries.
posted by spunweb at 3:23 PM on June 28, 2017
posted by spunweb at 3:23 PM on June 28, 2017
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posted by Adridne at 7:20 PM on June 27, 2017 [1 favorite]